Saudi cleric receives support for abaya comments

Saudi men and women attend the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Rumah on January 19, 2018. Comments by a senior Saudi cleric have triggered debate about whether women should have the option not to wear abayas. Fayez Nureldine / AFP

A senior Saudi cleric received support on Sunday for his statement that women should have the choice to wear the abaya.

Sheikh Abduallah Al Mutlaq, a member of Saudi Arabia's Council of Senior Scholars, said on Friday that Muslim women should dress modestly, but that this did not necessitate wearing the full-body covering.

"More than 90 per cent of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas," Sheikh Al Mutlaq said during his television programme. "So we should not force people to wear abayas."

However, the statement sparked criticism on social media, prompting Sheikh Al Mutlaq to issue a denial on Sunday that his comments were an invitation for women to appear in public uncovered.

“I was surprised to see that people have interpreted my words incorrectly," he said. "My statement said that Muslim women around the world are not obliged to wear the headscarf, as long as what they wear does not violate the conditions of the Islamic veil.”

Although Sheikh Al Mutlaq's statement does not necessarily signal a change in Saudi law, which requires women to wear an abaya in public, it was the first of its kind from a senior religious figure.

“A Muslim woman’s commitment to wearing the Islamic hijab is a sign of obedience to God and a means of propagating chastity,” Sheikh Al Mutlaq said.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Mousa, another senior Saudi cleric, said on Twitter that "chastity and morality should not be tied to a piece of cloth.”